Sherlock Holmes and The Sopranos
by Don Hobbs

As SherlockPeoria enters  it's sixth year, one of the best shows in television history airs its final episode. The show's final problem will be viewed by 10 millions viewers. It will not even come close to the number of viewers watching Game Two of the N.B.A. Finals, which airs at the same time as The Sopranos. This is not even a fair comparison because so many people in America do not subscribe to HBO. The Sopranos is not like watching television. It is more like voyeurism.

I cannot help but  wonder about popular culture one-hundred and fifteen years ago when the popularity of Sherlock Holmes started to soar with his regular appearances in The Strand Magazine. Sherlockians are kind of voyeurs, dissecting every aspect out of our hero's life along with all characters.

How long will it be before there is a Sopranos pastiche? Will HBO air a Real Sex episodes about the Bada-Bing?  Will they air a "Special Presentation" show of Oz: the Sopranos Years? The possibilities are endless. Will we start seeing Scion Societies of the Sopranos? Will the members be invested and be given a Silver Bullet instead of a Schilling? Those who are further honored could be given a Cohiba cigar.

I do not have the answers to these questions but I know how our hero has fared. When Holmes was lost to the world at Reichenbach Fall, Londoners wore black arm-bands in mourning for their hero. I doubt there will be any of that kind of display of sympathy for Tony, however he will be the topic of conversation around water-coolers and breakrooms across America. Who will be the last one standing after the finale's final credits roll past?

We know the fate of Sherlock Holmes unlike the worried souls of London in 1894. There are many who hopes Tony will survive. He assured Carmella that the family was not in danger, of course ask Janice how safe she feels after Bobby was gunned down at a toy store.

By the time this page is posted, the fates will have been revealed so I guess all that's left is to bake some ziti, pop the cork on some nice wine, put on my Deerstalker and white bath robe and join the other 10 million Americans who will be watching the final episode of The Sopranos.

Happy Voyeurism, I mean.....

Happy Collecting!!